Friday, August 10, 2018

Guest Post from Neve at WeTheParents

Mothers Unite to Fight Breastfeeding Inequality

Breastfeeding is the most natural of all parenting practices. Yet while this ancient rite is available to (almost) all mothers, not all mothers have an equal opportunity to make it work for them and their baby.
Last week, the world celebrated World Breastfeeding Week. It was the perfect opportunity to change the 'mommy war' debate. After all, the big issue isn't whether well-educated, well-off, and well-informed women choose to breastfeed. The real problem is breastfeeding inequality.
In the poor state of Louisiana (US) only 56% of mothers ever breastfeed, but in the relatively wealthy state of California, 93% do. Disparities such as this often correlate with socioeconomic status. This is well-known in academic and health-care circles, but it is rarely spoken about in the blogosphere.
This infographic by We The Parents shows the startling reality of breastfeeding inequality.

Mothers, Let's Unite

Too many words, tweets, and blog comments are dedicated to debating whether or not mothers should be free to bottle-feed without feeling guilty. Yes, that’s an important conversation, but the real issue is that many mothers who want to breastfeed are not getting an equal opportunity to do so.
Whether it’s zip code, family income, education level, marital status, quality of hospital maternity support, job lactation programmes, or the many other socioeconomic factors involved, through no fault of their own, many women simply do not receive the support and knowledge required to make a success of breastfeeding.
Surely we moms can all agree on this: when a mother wants to breastfeed, she should be given the best chance to do so. So let’s make this the cause we get passionate about online.
The solution is complex and will involve things like better paid maternity leave and lactation support in lower-paid jobs; it will mean improving breastfeeding education and community support; we’ll need to boost the quality of hospital maternity support, especially in deprived areas; and the old conflict of interest between hospitals and formula companies which results in women receiving free formula samples in hospital discharge bags will need to be tackled.
Achieving breastfeeding equality is by no means an easy task, but perhaps events like World Breastfeeding Week can be the catalyst for parent-bloggers to reframe the debate. Let’s fight together so that all women in all walks of life to have an equal opportunity to breastfeed their babies if they want to.
 
Neve is the proud mama of two, breastfeeding advocate, and natural parenting blogger.
You can catch her writing at WeTheParents.

Thursday, January 1, 2015

#OneWord365 Day One: Practice

It took me until 10PM to unroll my yoga mat today.

Maybe it's because I ate plenty of delicious Lebanese food at a late dinner/birthday party, so forward fold was giving me heartburn.

Maybe it's because I kept getting distracted from my pranayama: by Jaymz, Eddie, Joel, Daniel, Facebook, that strange noise coming from downstairs...

Maybe it's because I've been so sick lately and I'm still getting that burning water-up-the-nose sensation when I invert my head, which gives downward-facing dog too much bark.

Maybe the real reason is that my biggest fear is not actually that I can't do it, but that I can.

The word I've chosen for 2015 is practice: show up on the (metaphorical and literal) mat just as I am and try. Then show up the next day and do it again. Practice. Keep at it. Show up. Practice.

I've realized fairly recently that I'm not ever going to be "done," that there will always be more things to do, more growth to work through, and more goals to reach for. I don't know about you, but focusing on a goal doesn't feel very satisfying to me. Most of life is lived in the gritty and the mundane, in the day-to-day and minutia. A milestone only comes along once per mile, but how many steps does it take in between? How many breaths? How many passing thoughts? Life for me is about the process, not the product. It's at least as much about how an action is performed as it is about the result of that action. It's about the practice.

So I unrolled my yoga mat at 10PM today! I showed up, and that feels amazing.

Friday, September 12, 2014

Friday Favorites: September 12th

Welcome to Friday favorites: a weekly linky for your favorite blog posts from the week co-hosted by Maya of Musings of a Marfan Mom and me!

Come on over and link up a favorite post that you wrote this week! One of us will visit your blog to read and comment on your selected post, and we hope you'll spread the blog love by reading and commenting on other posts linked up in the list!




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Link up your favorite blog posts from the week using the linky below and Maya and I will comment on them! Remember to share the love by reading and commenting on a few other posts from the list after you enter your link in the list. The linky will stay open until Monday afternoon.

Friday, September 5, 2014

Friday Favorites: September 5th

Welcome to Friday favorites: a weekly linky for your favorite blog posts from the week co-hosted by Maya of Musings of a Marfan Mom and me!

Come on over and link up a favorite post that you wrote this week! One of us will visit your blog to read and comment on your selected post, and we hope you'll spread the blog love by reading and commenting on other posts linked up in the list!




Grab the Friday Favorites button to display on your site:

Friday Favorites with Musings of a Marfan Mom & Anktangle

Link up your favorite blog posts from the week using the linky below and Maya and I will comment on them! Remember to share the love by reading and commenting on a few other posts from the list after you enter your link in the list. The linky will stay open until Monday afternoon.

Friday, August 29, 2014

Friday Favorites: August 29th

Welcome to Friday favorites: a weekly linky for your favorite blog posts from the week co-hosted by Maya of Musings of a Marfan Mom and me!

Come on over and link up a favorite post that you wrote this week! One of us will visit your blog to read and comment on your selected post, and we hope you'll spread the blog love by reading and commenting on other posts linked up in the list!




Grab the Friday Favorites button to display on your site:

Friday Favorites with Musings of a Marfan Mom & Anktangle

Link up your favorite blog posts from the week using the linky below and Maya and I will comment on them! Remember to share the love by reading and commenting on a few other posts from the list after you enter your link in the list. The linky will stay open until Monday afternoon.

Friday, August 22, 2014

Friday Favorites: August 22nd

Welcome to Friday favorites: a weekly linky for your favorite blog posts from the week co-hosted by Maya of Musings of a Marfan Mom and me!

Come on over and link up a favorite post that you wrote this week! One of us will visit your blog to read and comment on your selected post, and we hope you'll spread the blog love by reading and commenting on other posts linked up in the list!




Grab the Friday Favorites button to display on your site:

Friday Favorites with Musings of a Marfan Mom & Anktangle

Link up your favorite blog posts from the week using the linky below and Maya and I will comment on them! Remember to share the love by reading and commenting on a few other posts from the list after you enter your link in the list. The linky will stay open until Monday afternoon.

Friday, August 15, 2014

Friday Favorites: August 15th

Welcome to Friday favorites: a weekly linky for your favorite blog posts from the week co-hosted by Maya of Musings of a Marfan Mom and me!

Come on over and link up a favorite post that you wrote this week! One of us will visit your blog to read and comment on your selected post, and we hope you'll spread the blog love by reading and commenting on other posts linked up in the list!




Grab the Friday Favorites button to display on your site:

Friday Favorites with Musings of a Marfan Mom & Anktangle

Link up your favorite blog posts from the week using the linky below and Maya and I will comment on them! Remember to share the love by reading and commenting on a few other posts from the list after you enter your link in the list. The linky will stay open until Monday afternoon.

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